Another email offering a (not so) great deal.

This morning I received an email offering me a great deal on the perfect holiday for me from a major High Street travel agent.  I clicked on the link so that I could compare their prices with the holiday that I have already booked.

The first issue was that they don't fly from my chosen airport to my destination at the weekend, they only offer one flight per week on a Tuesday evening but as I only wanted to compare prices I let this slide.

The second issue was that they only offered one hotel in the whole resort, and this is a hotel that I will NEVER be staying at again, but again this was just a price comparison exercise.

The package price for two travellers was £493 per person for a week's half board in a 3 star hotel and included flights and transfers, this was for mid June.  Breaking this down, the flight was £198.98 per person, the hotel £276.50 per person and the remaining amount covers the costs of transfers and the rep at resort.

The third issue was that when I searched for 1 person travelling, as you know I always travel alone, the hotel was sold out. Change the search back to 2 people travelling, and the hotel was available again.

Booking separately, the flights work out at around the same price once hold luggage is added, however, the hotel can be booked much more cheaply.  Going to just one of the many comparison sites the same hotel can be booked for the same dates, the same board for £295 for two people, a saving of £258 on the original email offer.  With transfers costing around £20 return this is a good saving.  

You could possibly find even cheaper, this was just the first site I looked at, I usually look at a couple before I book anything.

I've talked before about shopping around, and this is another reason why.

My London Visit Wishlist

I would love another trip to London, in the past I have been for one night stays but would love to stay for longer.

The places that I really want to visit are (in no particular order):

1.  The Natural History Museum.  I really want to visit Dippy before he is moved to make way for the whale skeleton.  I have never been to the NHM so it is definitely on my wish list.

2.  The Science Museum.  The geek in me loves the Science Museum, it was the first museum I visited where you are encouraged to touch the exhibits.  After years of having to walk behind ropes, signs on everything telling you not to touch and attendants in every room to make sure you don't, this was fantastic.  I need to go when the schools are not on holiday so that I can get to the exhibits to play, I mean, investigate.

3.  The Churchill War Rooms.  When I was at school I hated anything to do with history, probably more to do with the teachers and the subjects we covered than anything, but in more recent years I have become more interested in what went on, so a visit here is a must.

4.  Bletchley Park.  Not technically London, but close enough.  Again this appeals to the geek in me.  The fact that people were able to break codes, generally in a foreign language, just boggles me.

5.  Madame Tussauds.  Another place I have never visited,  I've been to Louis Tussauds' in Blackpool, but I am hoping that this one would be better.

Is there anywhere else you think I should add to my list?

My favourite hotel in Calella de la Costa.

I have been asked which hotels I consider the best and worst in Calella.

Well, the best is easy, of all the hotels I have stayed in up to now, the Maritim wins hands down and I am reluctant to try any of the others on my wishlist in case I am disappointed!  Others on my wishlist include the Bernat II and the Hotel Mar Blau.

Whilst not wanting to call any hotels 'the worst' there are hotels I would not stay in now although they do have their uses. The Olympic, for example.  I have stayed in the Olympic a few times in the past when I could not afford any better. Working full time I was determined to have a week in Spain every year but it had to be cheap which meant coach travel and budget hotels.

Similarly with the Bon Repos and its sister hotel the Esplai, when they were all I could afford I was grateful for them.

One of the problems with the cheaper hotels is that they are used by the German holiday companies who specialise in coaching in hundreds of teenagers who run riot around the hotels and resort with no supervision at all.  

One year a group were running around the hotel banging on doors at 5.30 in the morning, I was so worried that I put a door under the doorknob and I do not scare easily.  This was in the Haromar.

Another year, every non German in the hotel (the Calella Palace, or Osiris as it was then), lined the terrace and clapped as the teenagers all trudged off to their coach dragging their cases for the journey home.

Another issue is the location of the single rooms in the cheaper hotels.  They are never the best located in any hotels, usually having views of the bins, but in the Olympic I was right next to the lifts, which were not quiet and were going all night.

I have stayed in the Amaika which was a good hotel, although the standards seem to have dropped in recent years.  This is a 4* hotel with the interior resembling the Titanic, why anyone would want to base their decor on a sunken ship I don't know.

The rooms in the Les Palmeres were fantastic, but the hotel is definitely geared towards the older traveller.

I enjoyed my stay in the Hotel Vila, it looked completely uninspiring from the outside but inside it was amazing.  But it is more a weekend break type hotel rather than for a full week.

Do you have a favourite hotel?  

It pays to shop around.

I have just booked my annual summer holiday - and yes it is back to the Maritim in Calella for me.

I always shop around, although I do have a core list of online agents which tend to be my first port of call.  I tend to shy away from booking directly with hotels as they always seem to be more expensive than through an agent.

This year, however, I received an email from GHT Hotels, the company who own the Maritim, offering a discount.

I had been quoted €377 for a week's accommodation in a single room with breakfast, Alpharooms were slightly cheaper than this, but as I now refuse to book with them I passed onto the next price.

Booking directly with GHT, I have a twin room for sole use, which automatically means a larger room than I would have had, and half board meals, all for the price of €399.

I have also taken advantage of some add-ons; I have prebooked the safe in the room (the safe is always there, what you are actually hiring is the key and lock), this is normally €3 per night, or €21 for the week, I have paid €18.

I have booked a mini fridge, this is normally €30 when you pay at the hotel, I have paid €24.50.

Finally I have prebooked my drinks for my evening meal, normally I spend about €6 per night, for the 7 nights of my holiday I have paid €17.50.

The savings from paying for these additions up front has more than covered the additional €22 for the larger room and the evening meals.

Now to try and do so well on the flight!

Holidays for singles v holidays by yourself.

I've been travelling by myself since I was 18, admittedly I stick to the well known, and sensibly priced, areas - Spain, Germany and the UK - and once budget airlines were readily available I started booking accommodation and flights separately.

And saved a lot of money, generally a couple of hundred pounds per trip.

Booking directly with a hotel, or at least not using the High Street travel agents, mostly removes the single supplement.

Nowadays, however, more and more companies are advertising singles holidays, but are they worth the high prices?

One particular solo traveller company is offering a week in Calella, Costa Brava, in June next year (2015) for just over £1200 per person

It includes return flights with BA from Gatwick to Barcelona, and 7 nights of unspecified board at the Hotel Garbi.

Now if you book this yourself, the BA flights cost £251 for Business Class or you could do it for about £100 Economy.

The Hotel Garbi can be booked for £41 per night Half Board, this is £287 for 7 nights.

I've not stopped at the Hotel Garbi, but I do pass it on a daily basis when I stay in Calella as it is opposite the beach, and it looks clean and well kept.

So booking separately, this is a total of £538 per person, flying Business Class.  So what is the additional £700 for?

Has anyone ever booked a singles holiday?  Are they worth the additional cost?

Novotel Birmingham Centre, Broad Street, Birmingham.

The Novotel is a 4 star hotel situated right on Broad Street in Birmingham city centre.  It is a short walk from both the ICC and the NIA as well as all the bars on Broad Street itself.

The foyer is light and airy, there is plenty of seating available, a play area (this seems to be compulsory these days wherever you go), and the reception staff are friendly and efficient.  Check in was dealt with very quickly, you have the option of 1 or 2 keycards for your room which is a very good idea.

The corridors are clean and brightly lit, there is a shoe shine machine on each floor.

I had booked and paid for a single room, but was given a room with a double bed, the double sofa bed had also been made up meaning that as well as not being able to use the sofa, the space in the room was reduced.

The bathroom was bright, however the sink drained very slowly due to the strange shape, I prefer proper bowl shaped sinks but that is just personal preference.  The shower screen was a bit narrow which allowed some of the spray to escape onto the floor.  However, there was plenty of hot water and the shower was easy to use compared to some places I have stayed.

The toilet was separate and did not look like it had been updated since the 70s, but it was clean and fit for purpose, there was also an energy saving light in there which didn't really reach full brightness until you were just about to switch it off.

There were the usual tea and coffee making facilities along with the added benefit of a mini fridge, which I imagine was originally the mini bar.  Unusually for a UK hotel, there was also a safe.

The television was fantastic, better than my home set, there was the option to plug your ipod/iphone into the set if you wanted to listen to your music.

My main concern was the interconnecting door with the neighbouring room with what seemed like quite a flimsy lock, it was opposite the bathroom.  I am not an easily scared person, but there is something about interconnecting doors in a hotel which I do not like.

Breakfast was served from 7am which is fantastic for early risers.  There was a central island with all variety of cereal, fruit and fruit juice.

On a counter along the side of the room, were various cold cuts of meat and cheese, there was also buffet style hot items if you prefer a Full English breakfast.  Unfortunately, these items were lukewarm at best.

Coffee or tea was made on request and brought directly to your table.

Overall, it was a well appointed, clean and friendly hotel.  Would I stay there again?  Yes, but only if the price was right and I would eat breakfast elsewhere.

Banham Zoo, Norwich, Norfolk.

I spent a good few hours here and I am not sure that I visited every area, I will have to go back at some point.

The zoo is a little bit out of the way, at least from the direction I was travelling but it is very well sign posted and there is plenty of car parking once you arrive.

There were 2 ticket windows open when I arrived and no queues.  The adult ticket cost £17.95, a child's £12.95 and under 3's are free.  There are concession rates for Senior Citizens and carers, also the winter admission prices are a little cheaper.

There are plenty of toilets, always important when you are visiting somewhere with children, and food outlets too.

The first animals you see on entry are painted camels, they are not real - obviously - but very striking.  These camels were painted by local schools.

Next, there is a petting area with the fattest guinea pig I have ever seen, there are rabbits, goats and llamas too.

If you look closely, you can see that the llama at the back is sticking his tongue out.

From here on, you have several choices of direction to take, with many different animals to see.

All the animals seem very happy, with none of the distressing actions of those in European zoos, although this marmot made a break for freedom.

Marmots are burrowing creatures and they have dug holes under the fence of their enclosure, this cheeky chappie popped up out of a hole, looked around, decided he was better off inside and went back.

One of the lemurs was so bored with all the goings on that he fell asleep on the information sign.

And it was all too much for this meerkat who was also fast asleep.

Banham Zoo is home to 2 of the approximately 150 Suffolk Punch horses left in the UK, they are registered and used for breeding.

The giraffe enclosure is huge, their building has a first floor viewing platform, this can be reached by stairs, a long wooden sloped walkway or a lift.

There are so many animals and so many routes round that it would be impossible to mention them all here.

There are feeding talks and educational talks several times a day, some of the birds of prey are flown in display.  You can book to hold a meerkat or fly a bird of prey, but there are additional charges associated with this activities.

You do have to leave via the gift shop, but where don't you?  If you do need to leave and return to the zoo, you can stamp your hand to gain reentry.

It is definitely worth a visit.